DIY : A ( Fashionable ) Granny Tote Bag

This will be a lonnnggg pictorial tutorial post. I made a set of granny tote bags for my friend and sort of fell in love with one of them. So I sew up another one for myself. Of course, my mom saw it and now it is with her.

This is a reversible tote. I use black pleather on one side, and the other is a waterproof black polka dots fabric. The handles are black canvas webbing.

I took some pictures when I was doing the order, but just for the body of the bag. I’ll add a pdf of the pattern in a latter post ( when I find the pattern. It is somewhere hidden in the storage room. ) So here goes !

( oops , a missing picture. This is where you do the zig zag stitch all around the piece )

You will get the body of the first side. Make another in another fabric. Insert the first piece into the second piece, with the good sides showing and all the seams are facing each other. It is time to sew the webbing.

Measure across the horizontal line ( where all the pleats are formed ) and cut a length of webbing exactly the same size. Fold the webbing over so it sandwiches the opening. Sew in place. Do the same on the other side.

Next will be tricky part. Measure the curved lines plus the length of handle you want, plus 1.5 inch so the ends will be overlapped. You can make it a chic hand-held tote , or an over the shoulder tote.

Now start from the sides, where the seam of the bag’s body meets, fold the webbing so the bag’s curved side is sandwiched inside. I use a lot of bulldog clips to hold the whole length of webbing in place before I start sewing. The webbing will then reach above the bag, just clip it in half to form a sturdy handle. Then it goes back onto the side. ?? Have I lost you ?? Just sew from one side and go around, making the handles along the way.

When you get to back to the starting point, use a lighter to fix the ends of the webbing from fraying and sew it so it overlaps. This is quite difficult to do if your sewing machine is like mine, the very basic version.

If the pieces are too thick for the sewing machine to handle, don’t do the overlap. Instead, cut a piece of wide ribbon and sew it over to cover it up.